Barber Shop Snapshots
by 0positiv
Summary: Leo, Hal and Pearl spent over 55 years together in that barber shop in Southend-on-Sea. Some snapshots of their life together.
1. November 1957

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned them but BBC does :(**

17.04.2012: Edited out some AE, thanks to **Gingernut** for the heads up :)

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**06. November 1957**

„Did you read this? The Russians have shot a dog into space. What's next? A monkey on the moon? This is ludicrous." Hal closed the newspaper and placed it, precisely folded, into the magazine rack. "And now the Americans will try to out-shine their tomfoolery by, what, a bison in earth's orbit? Why can't humans accept their god-given limitations? First it was aircrafts and now not even the sky is enough for them, they need to go ever higher, be ever more daring. I don't see the appeal of being imprisoned in a tin can thousands of feet above the ground propelled by explosives. It's a recipe for disaster."

Leo chuckled in his armchair. He put his book aside to smile at his friend. "It's not foolish Hal, it _progress_. Don't you see how amazing it is that there are people out there who are clever and imaginative enough to shoot a dog into space? Soon humans will be up there, looking down onto this beautiful planet. The only limit for them is their imagination. How lovely it would be to be floating up there and to look down upon this earth. One day I at least want to fly in one of those airplanes Hal, don't you think that would be marvellous?"

Hal scoffed as he opened up his box of dominoes. He was in a sour mood today, irritated by the useless chatter of the barbershop's patrons that always through some trick of acoustics found its way up into his room. Leo on then other hand seemed to thrive on it. He appeared to need it as much as he needed oxygen and he was more at home downstairs pampering the patrons of his new shop opened only three weeks ago then upstairs in their living room. The lease on the shop and the flat upstairs were in Leo's name, but it had been Hal's money they'd paid with. Hal kept telling Leo he didn't need to repay him but Leo was adamant.

"But what use would men be up there in space? What good would they do humanity as a whole? Tell them that there is no God of any denomination to be found up there", Hal asked cynically as he took the first domino out of the box and put it down upright in the middle of the glass topped coffee table. This was no easy feat given how his hands shook these days. He felt reminded of times when other people's hands shook at the thought of _him_. "And I'm _not_ setting foot into one of those flying death-traps Leo, not even for you. I don't fancy being incinerated, thank you very much." A second domino joined its brother on the table, then a third one.

"Don't be such a bitter old man, Hal", Leo chided him, "Can't you admire them for what they can accomplish? I meet such amazing people everyday, every kind of man needs to have his hair cut, you know? And they are all special, in their different ways, even if they don't all shoot dogs into space. Just today Mr. Bernard told me about this new household appliance he helped develop, an electric washing machine. Can you imagine that? Women all over the country will thank him for that once they don't have to wash their family's clothes by hand any longer." Leo leaned back in his chair, folded his hands behind his head and looked at the ceiling like he could see the star filled heavens right through it. "And Mr. Thomas, he's a school teacher, and he's just received a letter from one of his former pupils thanking him for helping said young man get into law school. It's those little things Hal that are truly astonishing."

By now there were seven dominoes lined up on the table describing half a circle. "Humanity is not worthy of your admiration Leo. Call me a _bitter old man_ all you like but I've seen over three centuries of human cruelty and pain and I know that what really matters to them is not to _help_ their own kind but to _destroy_ it. Mark my words they did not send that dog up there out of pure scientific curiosity. There would have been a team of scientists and military officers hard at work to find a way to use those spaceships as a weapon even before they lit the fuse on Sputnik 1. _Any _progress only came about because they wanted to find better ways to kill their neighbours." At the ninth domino Hal's hand shook so much that the piece fell over as soon as he let go of it taking the other eight down with it. Enraged Hal wiped them off the table with his hand scattering them across the floor. "This is useless", he shouted, "How is this supposed to help me if I can't even get them lined up, let alone resist knocking them down?" Leo looked at his friend with hurt in his dark eyes. "That's how you treat my gifts to you? I had to shine shoes for months to be able to buy you those dominoes and you just throw them across the room like a child in a temper tantrum." He got up and collected the scattered dominoes. Then he went over to Hal, took his friends hand and placed the little white pieces on his palm. "It's not about getting them lined up perfectly. It's about concentration, about focusing on something else so intensely that you forget about the hunger." Leo pointed at the table. "Try again."

Hal clenched his empty fist in a desperate attempt at keeping himself from throwing the domino pieces at his friends face. He managed, but only just. As Leo sat back down and resumed his reading Hal carefully put down the first domino again in the exact centre of the table. They sat in silence for a while Leo reading and now and then sneaking glances at his friend's progress as Hal placed each domino with excruciating slowness.

After one tortuous hour the spiral was at last complete and Hal sat back with a weary sigh. "Very good", Leo exclaimed beaming with happiness. "I knew you could do it. Now, take them down again." Hal buried his face in his hands, screwing his eyes up and trying not to scream in frustration. He took three deep unnecessary breaths to calm himself down before he dared to open his eyes again. He met Leo's calm gaze with pleading eyes. "Could I not just leave them like that? I will only knock them over if I try to take them down. Can't you see how my hands are shaking?" He extended his hands to prove his point but surprisingly found them to be quite steady. He was so amazed by this that he only sat there for a minute looking at his idle hands until Leo's deep chuckle brought him out of his contemplation. "See, it's helping already." If Leo sounded a bit too smug Hal was prepared to forgive him, after all it really was working. "Fine, I concede victory. But I'm still not getting onto any flying machines with you." Hal started taking the dominoes down carefully to the sound of Leo's hearty laughter.


	2. September 1960

**Disclaimer: You know the drill, I own nothing but the shirt on my back ;)**

Author's note: Thanks to** rubyrosettared** for the tip about a little mistake here, corrected it ^^

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**16. September 1960**

Pearl wanted an electric refrigerator. That's how it had started. By now they were throwing insults at each other that would make a sailor blush. Leo sat at the kitchen table chin resting on his clasped hands following the argument like it was a tennis match. "We are not, I repeat_ not_, wasting any money on this foolish notion of yours", Hal said for the fifth time in about 30 minutes. Leo turned his head to the right looking at the vampire. "The icehouse has been perfectly fine for storing perishables for centuries, why is it not good enough for you?" They were still all seated at the table after a delicious dinner of cawl but Hal was a veritable volcano of pent up frustration just waiting to explode. His muscles were cramped up with the need to pace and vent but he kept himself seated hands holding on tight to the edge and rattling the silverware on the table a bit.

Pearl on the other hand seemed too still, like a mantis about to strike. And strike she did: "Oh, not good enough for me is it, Mr. I-need-a-new-Suit-this-one's-a-Week-old? We are the only household for miles, no the only household _in all of England_, that doesn't have a refrigerator." Leo turned his head to the left focusing his attention on the ghost. "And Mr. Old-as-Dirt if we had a refrigerator I wouldn't have had to bloody walk half way across town to get the meat for this stew." Pearl lifted an eyebrow. "It's not like you ever offer to go over there and stock up or to get me the ingredients I need to make dinner."

Hal exasperatedly threw up his hands. "How many times Pearl? I can't be among humans, it's not safe, _I'm _not safe." Leo turned his head to the right again. "And it's not like you _actually_ need to walk there. You just appear there, grab the meat, and disappear again. It doesn't take long." Pearl opened and closed her mouth a few times without uttering a word, making Leo turn his head her way again, admiring her perfect ruby lips. "That's not the bloody point", she finally blurted out. "It doesn't matter how long it takes, I shouldn't have to leave this kitchen at all to get the meat. _I'm_ doing all the work and _I_ can't even eat it." She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "You just never properly appreciate what I do for you men. _I_ do all the housework, I wash you clothes, I iron them, I hoover, I clean the windows, and what do you do? Play with your dominoes and listen to the bloody radio all day!"

"I'm not being lazy, Pearl, I'm only barely keeping myself from drowning this town in blood! You want me to hoover? To wash up the dishes? Fine! I'll do the damned washing up!" Hal jumped up and started grapping the dirty dishes off the table. Leo turned his head back to him and hiding a smile behind his hands watched his friend carry the dishes to the sink. Hal turned on the water. "Are you happy now? I'm helping!"

Pearl sank down lower in her chair. "Fine, you're helping, but _I'm_ still doing most of the work and Leo's the only one actually earning any money so _you_ don't get a vote in this refrigerator-decision, Grandpa. Oh, and use that new bottle of Fairy liquid, it's in the cupboard under the sink. And I brought some of those new marigolds, saw an advert in the latest issue of _Modern Woman_."

Hal shot Pearl an angry look holding up the package of marigolds. "I do not wear something named after a flower. And don't you think calling me _Grandpa_ will make me back out of this discussion. We don't have the money to buy a refrigerator right now." He filled the sink with water and started washing the dishes.

"_We_ don't have the money, but _you_ do," Pearl pointed out. "Have you been going through my things again", Hal asked turning around his eyes shooting daggers at the ghost. "Bloody hell Pearl, stay out of my room! My finances are none of your business. We are not buying a refrigerator with my money, that's my last word on this subject." Pearl was not giving up quite yet: "Well, but _I'm_ not going to cook anything ever again if I don't get a refrigerator." They entered a staring contest then, Pearl pouting in her chair and Hal dripping soap suds onto the kitchen floor.

Suddenly they turned as one fixing their demanding stares on their werewolf friend. "Leo, what do you say", they asked in unison. Leo leaned back, folded his hands behind his head and asked: "Is there any more cawl left, I wonder?" Then he ducked out of the kitchen as fast as he could to avoid a flying pair of marigolds.


	3. June 1958

**Disclaimer: Not mine, making no money, only borrowing from the BBC ;)**

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**13. June 1958**

The first siren screaming past Leo's barber shop this quiet evening only made the werewolf look up curiously from his newspaper before he resumed his reading. It was not that unusual to see a police car speeding past with flashing lights. But when it was shortly after followed by three ambulances and some firefighters Leo put the newspaper aside to peek out his shop's window after the receding lights. While he stood there wondering where they might be headed another police car drove past, startling him. Only now did Leo realise that he could still hear the other sirens. They couldn't have gone far once they'd passed him. Then they one after the other went silent. They had reached their destination. After a short internal debate curiosity got the best of him. Business was slow anyway today and it was just an hour until closing time so Leo decided to close up early and see what all the fuss was about. Maybe he could help somehow.

"Hal? I'm going out for a while. Will you be alright?" His friend had been in a good mood today even humming along to some old tune on the radio for a bit. Right now he was up in his room reading something or other by Shakespeare, if Leo remembered correctly. A door opened one floor up and Hal's voice drifted down the stairs: "I'll be quite alright, don't worry, but could you get some bread while you're out? We ran out this morning." Leo chuckled. "I'll see what I can scare up at this hour", he shouted up. "But there won't be much left in the bakery I guess. I'll be back soon."

The werewolf grabbed his keys from the table and turned the sign on the door to _Closed_. Having locked the door he walked down the sidewalk in the direction the police car had gone. After about ten minutes he could see the flashing lights reflected in a shop window down a side street. When he rounded the corner he saw that everybody on that street seemed to be out and about. They were alone or in small groups slowly gravitating towards the next intersection. It seemed like they were torn between their curiosity and an unwillingness to appear too morbidly interested in other peoples' tragedies. Leo gently pushed past a group of gossiping housewives apparently discussing the possible number of fatalities with a barely held back excitement.

Once he reached the next intersection Leo was stopped by a policeman cordoning off the area. "Please stay behind the tape, sir", he told the werewolf. Leo finally saw the reason for all the excitement. Two cars had crashed into each other on the intersection and were badly damaged. The crews from the ambulances were already trying to get the wounded out of the cars. Leo turned back to the policeman: "Is there anything I can do to help?" The young constable cast a look over the scene behind him thoughtfully then shook his head. "No sir, that's quite alright, we've got it covered, thank you." Leo nodded and took a step back his eyes on the terrible scene in front of him. One team of paramedics had freed a man from the wreckage and were now wheeling him to their ambulance. The man seemed barely conscious and one of his legs was in a splint. Blood was dripping from his arm hanging over the side of the trolley.

As Leo watched the ambulance drive away his eyes fell on a woman trying to get a policeman's attention. She was dressed up for a night out in a beautiful blue dress, her hair and makeup immaculate. But the policeman seemed to be ignoring her, like he couldn't even see her although she was practically waving her hands in his face and shouting in his ear. Then Leo nearly had to pick his jaw off the floor as the policeman took a few steps forward walking straight through the young woman. "Hey, watch were you're going! Didn't your mother teach you any manners at all", the woman shouted after him. She tried to appear angry but to Leo she only looked frightened, close to panicking.

The werewolf politely pushed his way past all the onlookers gathered at the police line until he reached the woman who by now was talking loudly at an older couple on the sidewalk. But they, too, seemed to be completely oblivious of the frightened girl in front of them. The man was holding his wife close to his chest while she dabbed at the tears leaking out of her eyes with his handkerchief. Leo was just trying to get up the courage to talk to the young woman when she whirled around with flying petticoats and their eyes met. He could see the tears brimming in here eyes at the frustration of being ignored but also the relief of finding somebody who didn't look right through her.

"You can see me! Oh God, please tell me you can see me," she shouted, grabbing his arm in her desperation. Leo awkwardly patted her hand and took some steps backwards pulling her with him. "Yes, I can see you, but they can't", he answered her quietly while trying to not appear to be talking to himself. "I'm Leo by the way. What's your name?" He realised she still hadn't let go of his arm and he could feel a tingling sensation where her skin came in contact with his, not like being touched really, more like electric shocks. Even the pressure of her fingers digging into his arm seemed less then it should be. "I'm...I'm Pearl," she stammered, distracted by something she had glimpsed on the accident site. Leo followed her line of sight and caught a flash of blue under a blanket one of the paramedics had just draped over a shape on the ground. It was the same blue as Pearl's dress with the same floral prints on it and the brown hair spilling out from under the blanket were the same ringlets that framed Pearl's face.

"That's me, isn't it? But how can it be me, I'm here, not over there," she asked bewildered. Leo felt her hold on his arm loosen as she took a step towards her body. He held onto her to stop her but nearly let go again when he for a second felt like his hand would sink into her arm like into a piece of dough. "Pearl, look at me", he implored her, "you don't want to see that, believe me. Let's go somewhere more private and then we can talk." But the woman ripped her arm out of his grip. "No, I need to see…that can't be me, it can't." The panic flared up in her eyes again and she ran over to the still form on the ground. Leo watched her go with a heavy heart because he knew that it would hurt her to see her dead body lying there on the ground. When Pearl reached the body she pulled away the shroud like one pulls off a sticking plaster, fast and afraid of the pain that would surely follow.

The sheet dropped from her fingers and she let out a sob as she looked down at her bloodied face, her broken eyes staring up at the sky. Pearl turned around and stumbled away face buried in her hands as a confused policeman draped the blanket back over her body wondering how it could have been blown away on a windless evening like this one.

Leo only caught up with the ghost again several miles away where she had broken down on a bench. He slowly sat down next to the crying woman and pulled her into his arms. "I'm really dead, am I? How can I be dead? I was only on the way to dinner with some friends…I'm not dead, I'm just dreaming…How can I be here if I'm dead?" He eyes found Leo's begging him to tell her it wasn't true. Leo felt a lump rise in his throat at the despair in her voice and he knew she didn't want to hear what he had to say but she needed to hear it. "I'm afraid you _are_ dead, Pearl. You are a ghost." Pearl seemed speechless as she took in what he'd just told her. Finally she blurted out: "But ghosts don't exist. You're lying to me! It's a dream, I fell asleep in the car and dreamed all this, the malevolent men with sticks and ropes and being invisible and you, too."

Leo slowly shook his head. "I'm not lying and you're not dreaming. Ghosts exist, humans just can't see them. Come with me Pearl, I've got a shop some way down the road there we can talk and I'll explain it all." The werewolf stood up and held out his hand to help Pearl up. The ghost looked at his hand suspiciously and made no move to take it. "What do you have to lose? You saw what happened when you tried to talk to people back there, I'm the only one who can tell you what's going on. Please, Pearl, you can trust me, really, I only want to help." She sighed and allowed Leo to pull her up. "Fine, but if you try anything funny I'll scream and call the police, understood?" Leo nodded and they walked down the road to his shop in silence, Pearls arm in his making Leo feel like there were butterflies running amok in his belly.

After the bell on the shop's door stopped chiming Hal came down the stairs stopping dead in his tracks as soon as he saw that Leo wasn't alone. "That's no bread," he finally managed to say. Leo couldn't hold in a small laugh at Hal and Pearl's bewildered faces.


	4. June 1958 part 2

**Disclaimer: They belong to the BBC, not me.**

****Author's Note: Thx to **paperclaire** for pointing out some AE that sneakily sneaked in there :)

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**18. June 1958**

There used to be a time when Hal enjoyed this. Back then he was usually the cause of it, too. But he was a different man now and this new man felt completely helpless and very uncomfortable in the presence of a crying woman. He licked his lips casting nervous glances to the living room door estimating his chances of making a run for it. But Pearl had very inconsiderately had her breakdown right between him and the door and was presently sitting on the floor in a messy heap of petticoats and blue fabric. Hal stood up tensely from his chair and walked slowly over to the ghost. His hands were clenched into fists by his sides aching to do something, _anything_, to make her stop but not sure what that something should be. When he stood above their new housemate he slowly reached out a shaking hand to awkwardly pat her shoulder. "There, there, everything will be alright", he told her in a strained and slightly shaking voice.

Hal wished Leo was there to take care of this, Leo was so much better at this kind of things, and Pearl was closer to the werewolf anyway. But Leo was downstairs happily snipping away at his customers' hair. Hal was sure the woman didn't like him which was only confirmed as she turned her eyes to him now fixing him with a glare that would turn lesser men to stone. "Alright? Alright? How can anything ever be alright again," she hissed at him. "I'm _dead_, Hal, dead and by this time tomorrow _buried_!" She picked up the newspaper she had dropped onto the floor and hit his legs with it repeatedly while new sobs shook her shoulders. Hal took the attack stoically letting Pearl take out her anger and fear on his trousers while he tried to remember whether they had any detergent that would remove the print stains from his clothes.

The day had started quite enjoyably with a quiet breakfast and Wagner on the radio. But as soon as Pearl sat down in the living room with him to read the newspaper things had gone downhill. Hal couldn't imagine what it must be like to read your own obituary since nobody had mourned his death all those long centuries ago. But apparently it was not a nice experience because Pearl had jumped up and started pacing while talking more to herself then him.

"_Beloved daughter and sister_? That sorry excuse for a brother wouldn't give me the time of day and now I'm suddenly his _beloved sister_! If I'd known that all it took for them to notice me was dying I'd have done that _years_ ago! Now they finally realise they had a daughter when before it was _Stevie this _and _Stevie that_!" Hal had looked up at her diatribe with a confused expression unsure if he was needed in this conversation at all when suddenly she turned around and walked up to his chair gesturing at him angrily. "Do you know what it was like? He was always the _perfect son_, Hal! All they ever talked about was how Stevie was top of his class, how he bravely went to fight in the sodding war and returned a hero while _I _couldn't even find myself a decent husband. _23 and still unwed, Pearl, are you planning to enter a convent_, mother asked me the day…the day I had that car accident."

Pearl had suddenly gone quiet and seemed to deflate slightly her eyes drifting to the paper again. "I'll never talk to her again, will I? I can never tell her that despite it all I love her." Pearl had slowly turned around and walked back to Leo's armchair but only made it halfway there when suddenly the paper slipped from her fingers and fluttered to the floor. Hal had itched to pick it back up and fold it when he'd heard her quietly sobbing shortly before she sank down to the floor herself. She'd been crying into her hands for a while before Hal had managed to scrape up the courage to try and comfort her.

"Would it help if you went to your funeral service", he carefully asked her now afraid that she would start hitting him with something more painful then a newspaper. But his question actually made Pearl stop her assault and look up at him with a thoughtful expression. "Do you think I could? I mean, they wouldn't see me, would they", she asked. "But wouldn't it be weird, attending my own funeral?" Hal lifted an eyebrow. "I think you're expected to attend your own funeral, at least in body", he said quite seriously and was a bit affronted when Pearl burst out laughing. But then again laughing, even slightly hysterical laughing was better then crying.

"It might help you to cope with your death, and it could be a chance to say good bye to your family, even if they can't hear you", Hal suggested. Pearl tapped her lips with a finger. "And they always say nice things about you at your funeral", she remarked. "I think this might be good, yes I'm sure this is a great idea. Thank you Hal!" She jumped up and enveloped the startled vampire in an exuberant embrace. Hal pulled a pained face at the sudden contact and went completely still and stiff. "That's a long hug", he finally managed to say as he tried to carefully free himself from the clinging ghost. "Oh, don't pretend you didn't like that, Mr. Touch-me-Not", Pearl said smiling as she pulled back and let go of him.

Hal started straightening his attire while Pearl picked up the newspaper to check the time of the service again. "It's at 9 o'clock, do you think we could persuade Leo to come with me? He could close the shop for a while, I think a funeral is a good excuse for that." She sat down in the armchair placing the paper on her knees going thoughtfully quiet. Hal walked back to his own chair, glad the drama was over for now. "I'm lucky I met Leo, I'm lucky I met both of you", Pearl said solemnly after a few minutes. Hal only smiled awkwardly before they slipped back into companionable silence.


	5. July 1969

**Disclaimer: Like always, they belong to Lord Toby and the BBC. I'm not making any money with this, I'm not even paying for any cheeseburgers with it ;)**

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**21. July 1969**

On the 21st of July exactly at 2 hours 56 Minutes and 15 seconds Greenwich Mean Time the first human sat foot on the surface of the moon. Watching it on their tiny black and white television was one of the moments Hal would forever remember as vividly as if it had happened yesterday.

He could still smell the remnants of shampoo on Leo's hands as the werewolf gave him an exited and relieved hug after the spaceship landed safely on that piece of rock caught in earth's orbit.

He could picture clearly his friend's beaming face bleached of colour by the flickering light of their television set, the only illumination in their living room that night. He had hardly ever seen Leo smile like that, so childlike and purely happy. Hal could feel the corners of his mouth turning up involuntarily at the memory just like back then he'd had no choice but to smile at his friend's infectious happiness.

Like Pearl had had no choice but to laugh out loud with Leo as he'd whirled her around the room in a fast and improper dance to music only he could hear. They had been like two pieces of a jigsaw finally fitting together before they'd stepped apart Leo blushing and Pearl looking demurely at the carpet.

Hal could still feel the condensation running down the glass of cheap champagne wetting his fingers as he lightly clinked it against the flutes Leon and Pearl were holding. Leo had insisted Pearl have a glass as well even if she couldn't drink it because it would be no celebration without a glass of champagne for everyone. They had nearly broken a window getting that bottle uncorked which had prompted a laughing fit that had left both Leo and Pearl clutching their bellies and Hal shaking his head at their antics.

They had not slept one second that night, first with Leo's anxious anticipation as he kept up a running commentary on the proceedings thousands of miles above them and later with the werewolf's insistence that such a monumental event called for celebration.

How worried the barber had been about those men on their way to the moon, like he knew each and every one of them personally. He had prayed for the safe return of each Apollo mission before it but had not been as excited about them.

Ever since Apollo 11 had left earth five days before he would talk about nothing else. His patrons were starting to wonder if Leo was secretly in American pay to advertise their space program. But they liked the young barber too much to ever be annoyed by his chatter or tell him to shut up. Pearl and Hal themselves were by that time only rolling their eyes good-naturedly at their flatmates hero-worship for the astronauts and at his fascination with space travel and human accomplishments.

Sometimes Hal felt like Leo idolised humanity too much. It was as if he looked upon this world of humans like a child would look at the tiny village in a snow globe with longing and adoration born out of his imagination's view of this world. To Leo humanity would always be the promised land of milk and honey that he had been cast out from the day he became a werewolf. No matter how many atrocities humanity committed it always remained untainted and perfect in his friend's mind, an ideal to aspire to, like being human was being exempt from blame. Hal would never understand how Leo, the most human person he had ever met, could for the rest of his days see only the werewolf in himself, never the man, while at the same time being so very good at seeing only the best in everyone else.

But in the small hours of that July day when Neil Armstrong and his crew made history Leo seemed to have forgotten all that. He was no longer a monster, a killer of innocents, but simply a man celebrating humanities greatest achievement with his friends. That morning Leo's happiness was not tainted by the awareness of the beast lurking behind his eyes waiting for the next full moon to rage and kill. It was not dimmed by the worry about Hal's own dark side and the effort to keep it under lock and key nor by Pearl's tragic fate that had robbed her of a life that had hardly begun.

Hal couldn't remember any night more carefree and relaxed than that one. The memory was bittersweet making him miss his old friends with a feeling akin to phantom pain, like a part of himself was missing yet still hurting him every second of every day. Like they had taken his heart with them across the river Styx and now he had to feel their absence like a wound in his chest. Such was the danger of caring about others, of loving them, of giving your heart to them. They could never give it back, not even in death.


	6. January 1962

**Disclaimer: ****Not mine, no money made, just passing time until series 5 :)**

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**16. January 1962**

Mornings were mostly a quiet time in the little household above a barbershop in Southend-On-Sea. Pearl needing no sleep always made sure breakfast and tea were ready at shortly after six o'clock when Leo and Hal came into the kitchen. Pearl liked taking care of "her men", her little family. Making sure everything around the house was clean and on time took her mind off thoughts of her real family and the live she was never going to have now.

Every morning she could hear Leo's alarm clock ringing like a fire alarm throughout the flat waking both the werewolf and the vampire in the room next to him. Then she could hear them in the bathroom and later rummaging around their drawers and wardrobes choosing clothes to wear. While the men dressed Pearl having set the table would vanish from the kitchen to appear on their doorstep and get the daily newspaper. She'd place it neatly next to Leo's plate since he always read it first.

The two men both lived by fixed timetables, Leo because of his shop and Hal because routine helped him manage what he euphemistically called "his condition". To aid Hal in this nearly impossible task Leo even on weekends never turned off his alarm or slept in. The only difference was that the barber shop stayed closed on sundays and Leo spend most of the day with Pearl and Hal.

Breakfast itself was coordinated like a play. It was so nearly exactly the same every day that Pearl had been slightly lightheaded with constant déjà-vu during the first week she'd live with her boys. They had slowly integrated the ghost into the complex drama – more like a comedy really – they played day in and day out until she had started to feel the comfort of routine as much as they did.

It made life easier if you knew exactly what to expect from each new day. Pearl could predict breakfast down to the smallest breadcrumb, from the way Hal buttered his toast – always from the middle outwards, always two toasts, never any red jam, _ever_ – to how and when Leo would refill their tea cups and the way Hal would perfectly align the cutlery on the plate after he'd finished eating. Pearl always cleaned the table at the same time each morning and then washed the dishes while the men took turns reading the paper. Then they'd both thank her for the delicious breakfast and vanish to their morning tasks giving her time to leaf though the paper on her own.

But this day brought a disruption to their routine which ironically made Pearl feel as out of sorts as their scheduled life had in the beginning. Today Leo wouldn't open his shop. He needed to make some repairs on the chairs. He also had been saving money for new lamps and they had finally been delivered last week. So the werewolf had told his regular patrons about his day off and put up a sign saying "Closed for Renovations" last night as he'd locked up.

This was why Pearl was not alone in the kitchen this morning as she read about the more or less important news of the past day. Leo was still sitting at the table disrupting the flow of their lives' script according to which he should be downstairs getting the shop ready. It made Pearl feel slightly self-conscious to be alone in the kitchen with her friend at this time of day. The way he didn't take his eyes off her even when she did nothing more interesting then read made her fidget and play with her hair.

In time the silence became uncomfortable for the ghost. She felt like the turning pages made too much noise, like she was leafing through the paper clumsily and the werewolf would surely laugh about her. She hardly understood a word she read being to preoccupied with sitting up straight and making a good impression on the man opposite her. She couldn't even remember when she'd started caring so much what Leo thought of her but slowly over those first few weeks in their household whenever the barber complimented her it had felt like the most important thing in the world.

Pearl found herself doing little things to make Leo comfortable, like unobtrusively leaving a bottle of cool water for him in the shop or cooking his favourite food. She'd never done something like that for anyone before, had never wanted to do it either.

And now she was sitting in the kitchen with him and couldn't come up with any subject for conversation that didn't feel dull or too gossipy. She had just reached the page with the marriage announcements which she usually avoided because they made her sad when an advertisement caught her eye: A young couple, the woman looking serenely happy with her eyes closed while her man whispered into her ear or maybe kissed her cheek, above the prettiest engagement ring Pearl had ever seen.

"Oh it's so beautiful, don't you think", she asked her housemate half lost in thought about all the plans for her wedding day she had made as a little girl. She used to dream her "knight in shining armour" would appear in her life one day to sweep her off her feet and they would live happily ever after. But she had waited for him in vain for 23 years, slowly losing hope that any man could ever love her and ask her to be his.

Now that she was dead she would never find that love. What man would love a ghost? And with this painful realisation in the back of her mind she looked up to find Leo's eyes still on her. He looked slightly worried and also slightly uncomfortable. "I just wish I'd been loved," she admitted, looking into his kind eyes, hoping he wouldn't laugh at her foolishness. "I wish someone would give me a ring, just like this one." She pointed at the black and white picture in the advertisement, feeling jealous of all the happy women announcing their love in the paper. "But it's not going to happen, is it?" She was fighting the tears then and dared not look up again.

They sat in silence for a while, Pearl closed the paper still holding back tears and Leo unsure how to respond to this admission. Finally he stood up, walked around the table and put a hand on Pearls shoulder. "I'm so sorry," he told her in a quiet voice. When Pearl looked up at him, trying to force a smile she could have sworn that he was blushing. "It's alright, Leo, it's not your fault." She put her hand on his and patted it as if he needed comforting instead of her. They stood like this lost in each others eyes for an eternity that lasted only seconds until the werewolf cleared his throat and announced that he'd better get started on those lamps if he wanted to get it all done by tonight. Pearl watched his hasty retreat with a feeling of longing she'd never experienced before.


	7. May 1963

**Disclaimer: Not mine, this is just me having fun with other peoples' toys, not me making money ;)**

**Author's note: Thanks to Indigo_Blues for the idea with the halitosis ;) puns are fun, thx to ShoePigeon for helping me find the date of the Beatles' concert :), thx to MancVamp for pointing out some AE that has sneaked in :)**

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**31. May 1963**

"Are you _drunk_?" It was mostly the indignation in Hal's voice that sent Pearl into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. She and Leo were sprawled in a messy heap on the sofa downstairs in the barbershop because Pearl couldn't drag the drunken barber any further. They were still singing _Twist and Shout_ at the top of their lungs even at this time in the night which after a while brought a sleepy and very dishevelled Hal down from the flat to glare at them. "Really, could you be any louder if you tried", Hal scolded them. It was not very effective though since at the sight of Hal in only his pyjama bottoms, fists on his hips and glaring out from under a bad case of bed hair made both Leo and Pearl laugh even harder.

"You're impossible, the both of you! How can you embarrass yourselves like that? Please tell me he wasn't singing all the way back home." Hal angrily pushed his fringe out of his eyes then rested his forehead on his hand with a weary sigh since Leo obliviously to their conversation was still singing although he had moved on to a slightly off-key interpretation of _Love Me Do_. When Pearl only grinned sheepishly in answer he groaned. "He was, wasn't he? He'll be the neighbourhood drunk if he keeps doing this." Pearl jumped to Leo's defence then: "Keeps is greatly exaggerating. He wasn't this drunk in all the time I've lived here. Let him have his fun, Hal."

"You're right, he is entitled to some fun, but please could it be of a more quiet nature next time", Hal conceded. "Now let's get him upstairs and into bed."

The vampire took one of his friend's arms and help Leo to his feet. Since the werewolf was quite a bit unsteady and nearly collapsed after two steps Hal draped one of Leo's arms over his own shoulders while Pearl did the same on the other side. Leo finally stopped singing and leaned over to Hal to tell him with nearly unintelligibility slurred words: "You missed all the fun, Hal, next time you're coming, no duscisss…duscuss…discussion." Hal leaned away from his friends face with a disgusted look. "Leo, you need to brush your teeth, you have a very bad case of halitosis and I'm not enjoying it."

This made Leo laugh so hard that he couldn't walk for a while. Hal and Pearl traded bemused looks not getting what had been so funny until Leo hiccupping after every other word explained: "He said…he said HALitosis…don't you see? HALitosis, that's…halla…hullar…very funny." Leo smiled from ear to ear, proud about his joke, as Pearl bust out laughing as well. Hal huffed and with a sour look on his face got Leo moving again so that at last they were ascending the stairs. "I don't see the humour in that, I'm afraid. Now please could you walk a little bit faster? We'll be at this all night otherwise."

After another ten minutes of laughing and singing on Leo's part and a not very amused Hal constantly muttering curses under his breath they finally had manoeuvred the werewolf into the bathroom. Pearl excused herself to let Hal help Leo out of his clothes and into his pyjama. She got the bed ready while the two men were busy in the bathroom so that when Hal could after a not very coherent discussion convince Leo that it would be a bad idea to go back out into the streets not dressed properly they could just let him drop into bed and tuck him in.

"You're the best fww-friends a man could wish for. You really are. I love you both, have I ever told you that? I looooove you. I couldn't have wished for better mateflats…", Leo mumbled as he slowly fell asleep. Hal breathed a quiet "thank God, about time" as he and Pearl sneaked out of Leo's bedroom on tiptoes so as not to wake him up again.

Since after all this Hal was wide awake anyway he decided not to go back to bed and instead sat down in the kitchen where Pearl made him a cup of tea. "So, I suppose your evening out was a success then?" The ghost smiled happily and started telling him of their little adventure:

"Oh it was fabulous. You know how Leo had been going on about that Beatles concert at the Odeon? And about how he didn't have any money to spare for it? Well, after we bought two bottles of wine I just sneaked him in there tonight, swaddled him under my skirts." Pearl explained proudly while Hal was at a loss for words at the outrageous indecency of a man hiding under a woman's skirts. Before he had a chance to enter another lecture on propriety Pearl continued: "And once we were inside we stood right up front at the stage since there weren't any empty seats anyway. At first the people looked at Leo funny and told him to sit down or get out or whatever. But Leo just ignored them and stood his ground and after the first song, _Some Other Guy_, everybody was out of their seats and dancing anyway. It was the best night out I've ever had, we were dancing and singing and nobody realized Leo was talking to empty air because they were all to busy having fun. We could have danced the whole night away but sadly after seven songs the concert was over. Hey, I even caught one of Ringo's drumsticks!" Perl proudly produces a wooden drumstick from the depths of her petticoats and waved it at Hal. "He did those tricks with it, like this, kind off…" She tried to twirl the drumstick around her fingers but only ended up dropping it. "Oh, um, not exactly like this then. But anyway, next time they're in town, Leo and I are going again. So what have you been doing this evening?" Pearl collapsed into a chair a bit breathlessly.

Hal who had been torn between the outrage of modern music inducing dancing during a concert and laughing at Pearls drumstick-debacle stayed silent throughout her story, only nodding in appropriate places or now and then lifting an eyebrow. Now, having finished his tea, he just shrugged and answered. "Nothing much really, I read some Goethe in the original, which I had not done that in a while. Then I went to bed." Pearl looked at him disbelieving. "Sounds like you went all out to have some fun as well, then", she said ironically.


	8. June 1958 part 3

**Disclaimer: Not mine, not making money ;)**

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**19. June 1958**

She was clinging to his arm like he was the only thing that kept her from falling down. He felt the too light pressure of her small hands through his black jacket and the white shirt beneath. Leo was sure if she weren't a ghost her knuckles would have gone white with the strength of her grip.

The rain was beating a staccato rhythm on his black umbrella that protected them both. Pearl was now and then wiping a stray tear from her face and he desperately wanted to offer her his handkerchief but dared not risk any of the assembled guests seeing the floating fabric. It hurt him that he couldn't even put an arm around her shoulder and hold her tight.

He could see that she was at the end of her strength, holding on to her self-control with all of her stubbornness to prevent herself from disappearing, from getting out of this painful situation. It was true most of the times that funerals weren't for the benefit of the dead but for the peace of mind of those they left behind. But in this case the one being buried needed closure as much as the mourners crying over her.

Before the church service Pearl had tried to hide her nervousness behind false cheer and pained smiles as she flitted about between the funeral guests, eavesdropping shamelessly on their conversations. But Leo had seen right through her flippant remarks about her cousin's dress sense and her brother's new girlfriend. He had seen the sadness in her eyes when she had whispered inaudibly into her mother's ear and put a tentative hand on her father's arm while he wept, unable to comfort him.

The werewolf was glad that no one asked him why he was here or even told him to leave. They all seemed a bit afraid to walk up to a black man and tell him to go. All he got was curious glances and people talking about him behind his back. It made him smile, this strange mixture of curiosity and uncertainty. But he wasn't here for his own amusement, he was here because his friend needed him and he would do everything in his power to be there for her.

"You know, everyone should go to their own funeral", she had said to him as they sat down in the last pew of the church. Her voice had nearly broken with unshed tears then yet she had bravely continued: "They are all being so nice now. I've never heard them talk about me like that. And they are all so sad that I'm gone, I would have thought they'd be happy from the way they sometimes treated me." Leo had squeezed her hand then, not daring to even whisper in the quiet church. Who would have thought it would be so hard to show her his support? But being out in public with a ghost was always a balancing act between ignoring her and seeming like a mad man talking to himself.

The service was a solemn and very boring affair with a constant background noise of quiet weeping and furtively blown noses. But Pearl was hanging on the vicar's lips like she wanted to remember every word he said. She now and then would appear next to him to catch a glimpse of the faces of her family which always made her look so terribly sad that Leo could barely stop himself from running up to her to hug her.

Later on the way to the nearby graveyard she told him how guilty she felt for causing her family so much pain. "If I had just stayed at home that night none of this would have happened. But I wanted to go out and have fun. I was being so silly." Leo knew he couldn't tell her that deep down he was glad she'd decided to go get into her friend's car that night. If she had stayed at home he wouldn't have met her. He felt terrible for feeling like that. It was a cruel twist of fate that she had to die for him to meet her.

At the grave the tight leash she kept on her control had finally snapped when they lowered the coffin into the ground. She had seemed unable to look away from it like she was mesmerized by the slow and unstoppable descend even as the tears started to flow from her eyes. "This feels so wrong Leo, I shouldn't be dead. I shouldn't be watching them bury me. Children should bury their parents, not the other way around. It's really me in that box isn't it? I'm not dreaming this and it's not just some horrid joke, right?" He had patted her hand and nodded sadly. Looking into her pleading eyes he had whispered quietly: "Yes, I'm so sorry, but yes, it is you."

Only when her coffin was out of sight and the family was done saying their goodbyes did Pearl take her eyes from the open grave to hug him tight and hide her face in his jacket. Leo watched the funeral guests walk away in small groups or alone and waited patiently for the last of them to leave until he returned his friends hug. They stood at her graveside giving each other comfort until the grave diggers came to fill up the hole. "Let's go home", Leo said leading Pearl out of the graveyard. As they walked home arm in arm Pearls composure slowly returned. "How about shepherd's pie for dinner?" she asked him. It seemed her way of telling him that everything was back to normal and that she was going to be alright now.


	9. November 1979

**Disclaimer: They don't belong to me, all things Being Human belong to Toby Whithouse and the BBC, I'm not even remotely making money with this.**

**Author's note: Thx to fleemneek for pointing out an anchronism, got rid of it ;)**

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**23. November 1979**

Hal had been eyeing the boxes with suspicion ever since Leo dragged them into the flat. They sat on the kitchen table now patiently awaiting their owner. They wouldn't have to wait much longer. Hal could hear Leo singing quietly downstairs which always meant that the other man was cleaning the barbershop after he had closed it for the day. It had nearly been 25 years since Hal decided to put his trust in the werewolf. It had been good years for them and later Pearl, but with every passing year in which things remained the same for him Hal also saw change everywhere around him. He saw the lines creeping into Leo's face, the unstoppable portents of his clock ticking away. And every new wonder of technology, every change in the way people dressed or behaved was like another reminder that this was not going to last, that Leo's time would one day be over, that Hal's kind cycle was still going to come to a close to be followed by God knows what. It was inevitable. No one can stop time. The irony of this was not lost on Hal. A vampire for whom time stood still feared it more then any human whose time was always running out. This realisation did nothing to lighten his mood.

When Leo entered the kitchen a few minutes later he found Hal glaring at the boxes on the table. Leo grinned as he put a hand on his friends shoulder, startling him slightly. "They are not going to bite you, you know", he said, smiling.

"What is it? And what is it doing here," Hal asked with a scowl on his face. Leo sat down next to him, also eyeing the boxes but with rather more excitement then Hal. "It's an Atari 800", he answered proudly pointing to the lettering on one box. Hal lifted an eyebrow. "I can read, you know? So what exactly is this 'Atari'? Is it some kind of household appliance?"

Leo thought about it for a while. "No, not in the sense you mean. It is a home computer", he finally stated in a tone that implied Hal should know what that meant. "So it's a calculator? We have one of those already, don't we", the vampire furrowed his brows.

"It's much more then a calculator, Hal. It can be used as a calculator, sure, but if you connect it to a printer you can use it as a type writer, you can play games on it, keep a record of your finances, write poetry or whatever else you can think of." While he talked Leo slowly, reverently, started unpacking the machine. Hal watched him with a mixture of suspicion and fondness. Leo always got so excited about his new toys. This childish excitement and wonder were some of the things Hal admired about his friend the most. Every new day, every new thing and especially every new person was full of possibility to Leo.

The vampire had never met anyone quite as optimistic as this werewolf. Even when he had been chained up in a dark cellar, forced to fight and kill every full moon Leo still was capable of forgiveness, capable of showing mercy to the man who kept him prisoner. And nothing could stop him dreaming. To him the future was always full of bright and shining possibilities no matter how dark the present. He had wanted an ordinary life, a little shop to earn a living and a home where he could live like a human man, and Leo had made all of it happen.

"But what would you need this 'computer' for? You have a typewriter and a calculator and a ledger for recording finances. Also I don't see how you could play any games with this thing. A chess board seems a lot more suitable for that." The wary tone of Hal's voice and his conservative views made Leo grin from ear to ear. "Next you'll tell me I should still be using an Abacus or calculating bones or whatever you used back in the middle ages. This is the future. It's not a question of 'needing' a computer, it's a question of going with the times."

Hal still wasn't convinced. "Why do you need a new thing to do something old things do quite well? What's wrong with a chess board? Or a game of cards? Why would you need a home computer for that if you can just use the chess board?" Leo took the newspaper from the counter and waved it at Hal. "If we have a newspaper what do you need a radio for? The paper tells you all about the news, too. Maybe we should sell the radio…" Hal started to protest how he needed Radio 4 for his routine and how this was entirely unacceptable when he saw Leo's smug grin and realised the he had just been outwitted. He huffed and said: "Fine, I see your point. Maybe your 'computer' can stay, but I'm not going to use it."

"But you can, if you ever want to. I'll show you if you like", Leo offered as he completed his unpacking.

Now Hal found himself face to face with a rather ugly metal and plastic contraption looking like a grotesque mixture of a toaster and a typewriter. There was also a tiny TV and some kind of rectangular box that Leo said was called a "printer". When Leo started perusing the user's manual, Hal decided to politely excuse himself before his friend could ask him for help setting up this devilish contraption.


End file.
